Trolley conductor support



Aug. 22, 1950 R. P. HANNA TROLLEY CONDUCTOR SUPPORT Filed Oct. '7, 1947 Patented Aug. 22, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TRLLEY CNDUCTOR SUPPORT Raymond P. Hanna, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Westinghouse Electric` Corporation, East Pittsbnrgh. Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application October 7, 1947; Serial No. 778,506

2 Claims. 1

My invention relates; generally, to trolley conductor devices, and it has reference, in particular, to a double trolley conductor feeder span hanger.

Generally stated, it is an object of :my invention to providevan improved double trolley ccnductor feeder span hanger that is simple and inexpensive to manufacture, and is reliable and effective in operation.

More specifically, it is anobject of my invene tion to provide an adjustable feeder span hanger for flexibly supporting a pair of trolley 'conduce tors.

Another object of my invention is to provide for connecting a substantially 4rigid trolley con ductor hanger member in hinged relation to support clamp members on a feeder cable.

Yet another object of my invention is to pro vide for using a link member for adjuttablyl con necting one end of a trolley hanger to a support clamp member which isadjustably posltionable on an inclined feeder span wire.

It is 'also yan object of my invention to provide, in a double trolley conductor hanger, for sup porting .a wood stick from an insulated feeder cable with both ends insulated therefrom, and to provide a flexible feeder connection to whichever of the conductor vsupports on the wood stick is to be energized from the feeder.

An important object of my invention is to prev vide a .soft or flexible .mounting for a pair of trolley conductors by using a double troll-ey conductor hanger wherein one end of a substantially rigid support member is hinged to a clamp on an inclined feeder cable, and the other end is 'con-v nected by means of a link member to an addl= tional clamp which is adjust-ably positi'onable along thefeeder cable so as to `support the insulating rmember in a substantially horizontal position.

Other objects will inpart be obvious, and will in part be explained hereinafter.

In practicing my invention .in one of its forms, a pair of ears for supporting trolley conductors are `positioned 'in spaced relation by means of clamps on a wood stick having end fittings. The wood stick is supported from an inclined feeder cable by means of aclamp gripping the feeder cable and rhaving a hinged connection Awith the end fitting adjacent the lower portion of the feeder cable. The othei` end fitting is supported in adjustable relation to the feeder cable by means of a link which is hinged to the end lit ting and to a clamp which .is adjustably positionable on the feeder cable to raise or lower the end fitting' in order to support the wood stick in a horizontal position.v A flexible feeder connects one of the trolley ears electrically to the feeder cable.

For a more complete understanding of the llll .' studs V35 for attachment of the trolley ears.

trolley ear -23 may be provided with alug 38 for nature and scope of my invention, reference may be made to the following detailed description, which may be studied in connection with the ac companying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is affront elevational View, broken out in part, of a ydouble trolley conductor feeder `span hanger embodying the invention 'in one ldf its forms; and

Fig. 2 .is a fsectional'view taken along` the line II-f-II of Fil-*4.1. without the cable.

Referring to Fig. l, the reference numeral I0 may denote, generally, a double trolley conductor feeder span hanger for supporting a` pair of trolley conductrs I IV and I 2 .in predetermined spaced relation'fromfan inclined vfeeder span wire Ior cable I4.

The feeder span hanger II] may comprise fan elongated insulating member Iii such as,.fo'r eiie ample, `a wood stick having end fittings i8 and 9 thereon provided with lugs 2t. and` 2l, vrespec-i tively. The trolley conductors II and I2 may be supported from the wood stick I6 by means of trolley `ears '22 and 23, which `are provided with relatively adjustable clamping portions 25, 26 and 21, 28, respectively, having means such as the bolts 29 and 30 for drawing vthe clamping members together to grip the upper portions of the trolley conductors therebetween.

The ears 22 and 2,3 Lmaybe mounted on the wood stick i6 by means of support means 33 coinprising, for example, cnmplementary clamp rne'rrz'r `bers BIA and 3-2 which may be secured about the wood stick by ymeans of bolts M. The lower cl-'amp members 32 may be provided with threaded The attaching a feeder therethrough for supplying electrical energy to the trolley conductor I2.

In order to provide a relatively soft or flexible mounting' for the trolley conductors il and I2, the end fitting I8 adjacent the lower portion of the inclined feeder cable I4 :may be supported .from the cable by means of a clamp support All. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the clamp support may comprise a relatively .flat body portion `Il hav-'- ing openings te and 44 therein. The body portion may be provided with a longitudinal groove V'4B adjacent the upper yedge having arcuate horns i8 adjacent the ends 'for receiving the cable i4. 'groove may be enlarged towards its ends and inner surfaces of the horns may be 'curved vto provide a bell-mcuth entrance. A rib i9 may be provided intermediate the ends ci the groove to grip the insulation of the cable M.. A separate clamp member 5t may be provided having 'a groove or channel 52 cooperative with 'the groove t6 of tilebody member' to grip the cable it, The lgroove E? 4may a1so be enlarged adjacent the ends to provide a uniform bellmeutn entrance, and a rib `53 may be provided intermediate the ends for gripping the cable I4. Means, such as the bolts 54, mayV be utilized to eiect clamping engagement of the body member and clamp member 50 with thecable.

The end tting I8 may be connected to the clamp support 40 in hinged relation, being, for example, connected thereto by means of a pin B passing through an opening in the ear 20 and the opening 44 of the body member 4I wherein it may be secured in any suitable manner such as by means of a Cotter pin 58. This provides a relatively loose hinged connection which permits angular movement of the wood stick relative to the cable I4 in a substantially vertical plane through the cable.

The other end litting I9 adjacent the higher portion of the cable I4 may be supported from the cable by means of a similar clamp support 40 and a connector 6D. The connector 50 may comprise a substantially rigid link having openings GI and 62 adjacent the ends for receiving pins 64 and 65 which eiTect relatively loose hinged connections with the ear 2| of the end fitting and the body portion of the clamp support. This also provides a hinged connection permitting angular movement of the wood stick and cable in a substantially vertical plane.

Electrical energy may be supplied tothe trolley conductor I2 by means of a flexible feeder 6'! which may be electrically connected to the cable I 4 by means of a suitable clamp 68, and connected to the lug 38 on the trolley ear 23 by means of a bolt 69.

When the hanger is used With span wires or cables having slopes of from about 2 to 4 degrees, the upper hole 43 may be used to provide a hinged connection between'the clamp support 40 and the connecting member 6E) as shown in the solid line portion of Fig. 1.

When the hanger is used with span wires inclined at angles of from 4 to 6 degrees, the lower hole 44 may be used to provide the hinged connection with the connecting member 60 shown in the dot-and-dash outline portion of Fig. 1.

By using the openings y43 and 44, and adjustablly positioning the clamp support 4E! to which the connecting member 6I) is hinged in different positions along the feeder cable I4, the -wood stick I6 may be supported in a substantially horizontal position for different inclinations of the cable I4.

Since the cable I4 is relatively flexible and the wood stick I6 is connected by hinged connections at each end to the clamp'supports 40, a relatively soft or flexible mounting is provided for the trolley conductors I I or I2. This permits vertical movement of the wood stick as a current collector passes along the trolley conductors and eliminates to a great extent hard spots in the trolley conductor which tend to produce undesirable noise in an electrically operated vehicle and also cause excessive wear of the trolley conductor.

From the above description and the accompanying drawing, it will be apparent that I have provided a simple and inexpensive construction for double trolley conductor 4feeder span hangers which is easy to manufacture, and which is reliable in operation. By utilizing clamp supports having bell-mouth ends, rocking movements of the clamp supports is permitted without damage to the insulation of the cable. By supporting the wood stick in insulated relation to the cable at both ends, the amount of clearance between the trolley conductor and the end ttings may be reduced, thus enabling a shorter Wood stick to be used. By providing a direct electrical connection between the feeder cable and the trolley ear supporting the trolley conductor which is to be energized from the feeder cable, a solid, low resistance connection is insured which is unaiiected by relative movement of the hanger during the passage of current collectors.

Since certain changes may be made in the above-described construction, and different embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is intended that all the matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawing shall be considered as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim as my invention:

l. A support device for supporting a pair of trolley conductors in predetermined relation from an inclined span wire which is higher at one point than at another comprising, an elongated insulating member having end fittings, a pair ol support members mounted on the insulating member in spaced relation intermediate the end fittings to support the conductors, clamp means having a loosely hinged connection with the end fitting adjacent the low point of the span wire, said clamp means being operable to grip the span wire, an elongated connector bar having a loosely hinged connection at one end with the other end tting, and additional clamp means having connecting means including a plurality of openings cooperative to provide a loosely hinged connection with the other end of the connector adjustable to grip the span wire in different positions to vary the angular relation of the connector and insulating member, whereby said other end fitting is raised or lowered relative to the span Wire.

2. A hanger for supporting a' pair of trolley conductors from an inclined insulated feeder span cable comprising, an elongated insulating member having end fittings, support means for the conductors positioned on the insulating member in spaced relation intermediate the ends, a clamp member disposed to grip the insulated cable and having a relatively loosely hinged connection with one end fitting, an elongated ccnnecting bar connected adjacent one end in relatively loosely hinged relation to the other end fitting, additional clamp means adjustably positionable along the conductor adjacent the other end fitting, adjustable connecting means including a plurality of openings in the additional clamp means providing a relatively loose hinge connection between the additional clamp means and said other end fitting, and fiexible conductor means electrically connecting one of the support means to the cable.

RAYMOND P. HANNA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain July 11, 1941 

